The sun was rising into the sky, changing its dark blue color to a much lighter shade of blue. The stars slowly faded out of view.

As he had been the night before, Lumpy was still sleeping in his bed, with his Lillipup and Bunnelby sharing the same blanket as his, while Missie was still asleep close to the end of the bed. Not long after the sun had gone up, however, Lumpy slowly opened his eyes. He sat up in bed, yawned into his hand and rubbed his eyes gently. He looked down at his Pokemon and cat, still sleeping.

As gently as he could, Lumpy picked up his sleeping Lillipup, which didn't even move in his arms. He sat on the edge of the bed, placed Lillipup closer to Bunnelby, and then stepped out of bed. Lumpy walked out of his bedroom as quietly as he could, then went into the bathroom. He took off his pajamas, put them in the hamper, then took a shower, brushed his teeth and put on some odorless deodorant before he headed downstairs. Out of pure curiosity, Lumpy looked in the living room to see if he had gotten any presents, but all he saw was the presents he had left there yesterday. However, there was also a note in the Christmas tree. Lumpy went over to the tree, picked up the note and looked at it.

"Dear Lumpy, although you've been good all year, I received a letter from your parents asking to do them a little... favor. I won't give too much away, but all you have to do is visit your parents' house. You have a Merry Christmas, my friend. Love, Santa."

Lumpy nodded in understanding and put the note back. He then picked up his presents for Lillipup, Bunnelby and Missie and turned around. But just as he did so, he saw all three of his pets in front of him, looking up at him excitedly. Knowing what they wanted, Lumpy smiled, bent down and gave them their respective gifts. They all proceeded to open them, somehow without damaging what was inside.

Missie was delighted to receive the bag of chicken treats, Lillipup was very happy to receive the squeaky toy, and Bunnelby was overjoyed to receive the bag of carrots.

In fact, Lillipup and Bunnelby jumped into Lumpy's arms, and while Lillipup started licking Lumpy's face, Bunnelby snuggled up against Lumpy's chest. And on the floor, Missie rubbed herself against Lumpy's legs, purring happily. Lumpy smiled and giggled as he let them do so, feeling happy for himself as well as how appreciative they were.

"I'm glad you like my gifts, guys," said Lumpy. "But I have to go to my parents' house for Christmas soon. Okay?"

Lillipup and Bunnelby nodded in understanding, as did Missie. Lumpy gently put Lillipup and Bunnelby back down on the floor and petted their heads just as gently.

"I'm gonna go upstairs and get dressed," said Lumpy. "It's cold outside, and my parents want me to look nice."

Lumpy then went back over to the stairs and climbed them, leaving his pets with their presents in the living room. Lumpy returned to his bedroom, went over to the dresser and pulled one of them open. He reached into it and pulled out a light blue sweater, the same kind and color as the one he'd worn when he went to Sniffles' house. He slipped it on, somehow getting it over his antlers, and then pulled out one of his light blue pair of pants. He put them on one leg at a time, then closed the drawer.

He then opened the drawer that had the scarves inside, pulled out a red one and wrapped it around his neck. He then closed this drawer and looked into the mirror. With his sweater, pants and scarf, Lumpy looked like he would be warm enough for the weather. Seeing that he was barefoot, however, he then opened up his sock drawer and pulled out some large, fuzzy blue socks. He pulled one sock over one foot, then the other over the other foot. He then took his snow boots from the past two days and put them on as well, one at a time.

Lumpy looked into the mirror again and smiled. "I think I'm just about ready," said Lumpy to himself.

He picked up his smartphone, still with a high battery percentage with how little he'd used it recently, and put it in his pants pocket. Then picked up his handkerchief purse and put it over his arm. He hadn't even needed to sneeze yet, but better safe than sorry. Lumpy then headed out of his room and went down the stairs.

Lumpy picked up his gift bags that were for his mom and dad, as well as that one gift-wrapped box, then headed outside. He could already tell by the chill, the skies and looking at the ground that it had snowed once again. When it was Christmas time in the forest where the Happy Tree Friends lived, the temperature got so low that the snow that fell to the ground wouldn't melt for quite a few days. That was alright, however. It was winter, after all.

Lumpy opened the passenger door of his car, carefully placed his presents inside the front seat, and then closed the door. He then went back to the front door to get his car keys.

However, when he opened the door and stepped in, he saw Lillipup, Bunnelby and Missie all waiting for him. Were they hungry? Lumpy decided to take care of that. After picking up his car keys, he went into the kitchen and filled his pets' food bowls, two with Pokemon kibble and one with cat food.

As Lumpy watched his Pokemon and cat eat their breakfast, a thought occurred to him. "Maybe I should bring Lillipup and Bunnelby to my mom and dad's house. I don't want them to get bored... and besides, I don't think Bunnelby has met my parents yet."

After a couple of minutes, Lillipup and Bunnelby were finished with their breakfast and stood where they were, licking their lips in satisfaction. Lumpy chose this time to ask them.

"Lillipup? Bunnelby?" The two Pokemon looked up at Lumpy. "How would you two like to come with me to my mom and dad's house for Christmas?" As soon as he finished asking that, they smiled.

"But if you two are going to come with me, you'll both have to behave yourselves," Lumpy went on. "Will you do that, please?"

The Pokemon both nodded, letting Lumpy know that they would do that. Lumpy smiled, pulled out their Pokeballs and recalled them.

"Lillipup, return!" Lillipup was returned first, then Bunnelby. "Bunnelby, return!"

With both of the Pokemon safe in their Pokeballs, Lumpy placed them in his pants pocket. Then he looked down at Missie, who had also finished her breakfast and was now licking herself contentedly.

"Missie, sweetie?" Lumpy asked to get her attention. "I'm gonna go somewhere for a few hours. I'd like to bring you, but I know how much you hate the pet carrier..."

Missie visibly cringed when he mentioned that.

"So I'll let you stay home alone." Lumpy said. "I know you just ate, but you can have some of those chicken treats I gave you if you want a snack. And if you need to go outside, there's the pet door in the front door, and the litter box is in the bathroom if you need to... ahem, go."

"So can I trust you to be here by yourself without making a mess?" Lumpy asked.

Missie took his every word in, then nodded. Lumpy smiled, bent down and petted the top of Missie's head, making her purr.

"Good kitty." Lumpy then stood back up and walked over to the front door.

Once he'd made it there, Missie followed him to the door. Lumpy placed his hand on the doorknob and waved his other hand to Missie. The white and gray cat watched as he then turned the knob, pushed the door open, went outside and closed the door behind him.

Missie sat where she was and licked her paws. She didn't mind being home alone, nor was this the first time this had happened. She was going to be just fine.

Lumpy went out to the car, opened the car door, and got in. He shut the door, put on his seatbelt, and placed his car key in the slot. He started the engine, backed out of the driveway and drove away from his house.

It was a bit of a bumpy drive from Lumpy's house to his mother and father's, but it wasn't too bad. When Lumpy finally made it to his parents' house, he parked his car in front, then killed the engine and pulled out his car keys. He opened the car door, stepped out, and then went over to the passenger door to retrieve the presents that had been waiting in the front seat. With the bags in one hand and the box in the other, Lumpy shut the door and went up to the front door.

He used his forefinger on the hand that was holding the bags to ring the doorbell, then waited. After a couple of seconds, the door opened to reveal Marilyn.

"Hey, Mom!" Lumpy greeted her.

Marilyn gasped and smiled in joy. "Lumpy! Oh, you made it! Come on in, darling." She moved out of the way so Lumpy could come in. "And are those presents, for us?"

"Yes, they are," Lumpy said. He went inside and looked around. "Hey, where's the tree?"

Marilyn pointed to a Christmas tree in the corner of the room. "It's over there, honey."

Lumpy smiled, went over to the tree, and bent over to put down the gift bags underneath it, along with the box. He stood back up, but then smiled in delighted surprise. Under the Christmas tree, besides his own presents for his parents, were at least a dozen gifts, many of which clearly had the word "Lumpy" written on the tag to indicate they were his.

Lumpy was so happy that he couldn't get a lot of words out. A tear of joy formed in his right eye. "Oh, my... I... did he really... come here... just like in that note he left me...?"

Marilyn went up to him and gave him a warm hug from behind, making him blush and smile even more. "Merry Christmas, Lumpy."

Lumpy turned and hugged his mother as well. "You, too, Mom."

They let go after about a minute of hugging, but Marilyn held her son's hands in her own.

"By the way, where's Dad?" Lumpy wanted to know.

"He'll be up soon," Marilyn promised. "It always takes him a bit to get ready for the day on Christmas. But as soon as he comes downstairs, we'll open our presents from you."

"I understand," said Lumpy. What Marilyn had told him was something she had told him every year on Christmas, and with the exception of when he was a child, he always obeyed. Sometimes it was a bit hard to do, but he still managed.

As Lumpy kept his smile, however, he felt a tickle in his nose, and his snout quivered slightly but noticeably. Knowing what was about to happen, he gently pulled his hands out from his mother's grasp as he began to inhale, tilting his neck backwards. "Ah... Haaah..."

"Hmm?" Marilyn raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Lumpy, darling?"

"Aaaaaah..." Lumpy pulled out a white handkerchief from his purse, then covered his nose with it as he finally released the sneeze. "Chooooooo!"

The sneeze was held out for a couple of seconds, but it wasn't powerful or excessively loud. It did surprise Marilyn, however, and she covered her mouth with her hand.

Almost as soon as Lumpy had recovered from the sneeze, he suddenly let out another one, keeping his handkerchief over his nose as he did so. "Hah-choo!"

Lumpy then turned back to his mother, removed his handkerchief, and rubbed his nose politely with his forefinger.

"Excuse me..." Lumpy said as he blushed in embarrassment.

"It's alright, darling," Marilyn said with a smile. "And bless you."

"Thanks." Lumpy sniffled as he continued to rub his nose for a few moments, and then wiped it with his handkerchief for a few seconds.

"Are you feeling alright?" Marilyn wanted to know.

"Yeah, I'm fine," said Lumpy. He pulled his handkerchief away from his nose for the second time. "The truth is, I sneeze when I'm happy."

"Oh." Marilyn chuckled a bit.

Lumpy put his handkerchief back in his purse, then zipped it back up. "But I have a feeling this Christmas is going to be great," said Lumpy.

"So do I, sweetie," Marilyn replied.

After she'd said that, Lumpward finally walked into the living room, wearing a dark green bathrobe. He yawned quietly but deeply into his hand, then rubbed one of his eyes with it.

"Good morning, Dad!" Lumpy said. "Merry Christmas."

"Hey, son," Lumpward replied. "You're here already?" Lumpy nodded in excitement. "You look awfully excited."

"Oh, he is, Lumpward," said Marilyn. He turned to Lumpy. "Well, Lumpy, now that your father's up, how would you like us to open the presents you brought for us?"

"Of course!" Lumpy said with a smile.

He took the gift bag that was meant for Marilyn and handed it to her. She smiled warmly and sat down on the couch to open her gift, with Lumpy sitting down next to her.

Marilyn reached into the bag, felt something soft, then pulled it out to look at it. It was the pink, flowery scarf that Lumpy had bought for her at the store. Marilyn smiled.

"Oh, Lumpy, it's beautiful!" said Marilyn.

"It sure is," said Lumpy as he smiled at her reaction. "I wanted to buy that for you because I love scarves. Oh, but mostly because I want you to stay warm all winter."

"Thank you so much, Lumpy!" Marilyn replied. She gently wrapped the scarf around her neck. "How does it look?"

"Looks really good," Lumpy said, truthfully.

Marilyn pulled out a little pocket mirror, opened it and looked at herself wearing the scarf. She smiled. "Oh, it's just lovely!" She closed the mirror and looked at Lumpy appreciatively. "In fact, I might even have it on all day."

Lumpy chuckled. "I'm glad you love it, Mom. But there's a little more in there if you're interested..." He pointed to the gift bag.

Marilyn put away her pocket mirror and reached into the bag once more. What she felt then was what seemed to be a plastic container. She pulled it out to reveal the bottle of unsweetened tea that Lumpy had bought for her.

"Oh, my favorite!" Marilyn said. "And what a surprise, I was just running out of this!"

"You were?" Lumpy asked, but Marilyn giggled in response.

"Well, I wasn't completely out of it, but I'm so happy you got me some more," Marilyn said. "Thank you, Lumpy!" She nuzzled Lumpy's face affectionately. Lumpy didn't mind, but he blushed a bit; it had been so many years since she last did this.

"No problem, Mom," said Lumpy.

Marilyn placed her bottle of tea aside, then reached into her gift bag once again. She felt a box this time, so she pulled it out. It was the "world's best mom" mug that Lumpy had bought for her. Marilyn blushed when she read what was on it.

"Aw, you really think so?" Marilyn asked Lumpy.

"Absolutely." Lumpy gave a single nod.

"Thank you so much, Lumpy," said Marilyn. "If only there was a 'world's best son' mug, I would definitely buy one for you."

"Oh, that's alright," said Lumpy. "But that would be so sweet."

"By the way, there's one last thing in there..." Lumpy pointed to the bag one more time. "I think I made the right decision on what to get you."

Marilyn put down her mug, then reached into the bag for the final time. She felt something soft and fuzzy, a bit similar to her scarf. She pulled out the object, looked at it and gasped in surprise. It was the stuffed cat that Lumpy had bought for her at the store.

"Awwww!" Marilyn brought the cat up to her cheek and gave it a hug. "Lumpy, it's absolutely adorable!"

"I knew you'd love that," said Lumpy, "that's why I bought it."

"Oh, Lumpy, that is so sweet and thoughtful of you!" Marilyn said. She put down her stuffed cat, then hugged Lumpy once again. "Thank you so, so very much, my darling!"

Lumpy smiled and hugged her in return. "You're welcome."

When they finally let go, Lumpy picked up the gift bag that was for Lumpward and handed it to him.

"Here you go, Dad," said Lumpy.

Lumpward reached into the gift bag, felt something soft and pulled it out. When he looked at it, he saw that it was the horseshoe scarf that Lumpy had bought at the store.

"Hey, this looks familiar..." said Lumpward.

"It does?" Lumpy asked.

Lumpward looked at the scarf for quite a few seconds. Finally, he smiled in realization.

"This looks just like the scarf I wore before I met Marilyn!" Lumpward said. He wrapped it around his neck, causing Marilyn to blush.

"Oh, Lumpward, you look so handsome!" Marilyn commented.

"You know, you kind of do," Lumpy agreed.

"Thanks, sonny," Lumpward replied, both for the compliment and for giving him the scarf. "Anything else in that bag?"

"Yeah, there's a couple of things..." Lumpy said.

Lumpward reached into the bag, felt around for something and felt a smaller bag. He pulled it out and looked at it, revealing the bag of coffee mix Lumpy had bought at the store.

"Hey, thanks, Lumpy," said Lumpward. "You knew how much I loved coffee, didn't you?"

"I guess I did," Lumpy said with a chuckle.

Lumpward put the bag of coffee mix aside and reached into the gift bag one last time. He felt a box and pulled it out, only to see that it was the "world's best dad" mug that Lumpy had bought for him.

"Ya really think that?" Lumpward asked. "Ya think I'm the world's best dad?"

"Well, yeah," Lumpy said. "And I might have also bought that to go with the mug I bought for Mom..."

Lumpward put his mug aside, stood up and went over to Lumpy. For a moment, they just looked at one another, but then Lumpward wrapped his arms around Lumpy for a hug.

"Thanks a lot, sonny! Those were the best gifts I ever got!" said Lumpward.

Lumpy was a bit surprised from the sudden hug, but smiled and returned the favor. "Don't mention it, Dad."

Lumpward let go of Lumpy and smiled at him before he removed his hands from his shoulders.

"Well, Lumpy, since you got us such wonderful gifts," Marilyn said, "how would you like to open the presents Santa brought here for you?"

Lumpy smiled in delight at just the idea. "Absolutely!"

He went over to the Christmas tree, kneeled down in front of the gifts and rubbed his hands together in excitement. He picked up one of the presents and removed the wrapping paper from it. It was Kirby's Epic Yarn for the Nintendo Wii.

"Oh, my gosh!" said Lumpy.

"What is it, Lumpy?" Marilyn asked as she went to see what the game was.

"It's that game where Kirby and everyone else is made of yarn," Lumpy said. "But at your age, it's probably not something you're familiar with..."

"It's alright, Lumpy," said Marilyn. "It looks simply adorable."

"It sure does," Lumpy said. "That's actually why I wanted it so much."

He put the game aside, picked up another present and removed the wrapping paper from it. To his surprise, it was Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn on the Nintendo 3DS.

"Wait, WHAT?" Lumpy couldn't believe it. "They made a 3DS version of Kirby's Epic Yarn?!"

"My goodness!" Marilyn said. "They really did, didn't they?"

"That..." Lumpy smiled as tears of joy filled his eyes. "That is awesome! Now I can play Epic Yarn wherever I want!"

He hugged the game for a few seconds, then put it aside. He picked up the next present and removed the wrapping paper from it. His eyes widened and pupils shrunk in surprise and delight. He had gotten Yoshi's Crafted World for the Nintendo Switch.

"I... Wow! Yoshi's Crafted World?!" Lumpy showed the game to Marilyn. "I've been waiting for this game all year!"

"I have to admit, that is a very cute-looking game, too," Marilyn said. "And with how good you are, I'd say you deserved it."

Lumpy smiled, then put the game aside and picked up the next present. When he held it in his hands, however, it felt like there were actually more than one object beneath the wrapping paper. Lumpy pulled off the paper and saw that it wasn't just one thing, but three. They were Yarn Yoshi amiibos; one green, one pink and one light blue, each one in a plastic box and waiting to be opened.

"Aww!" Lumpy's eyes sparkled in adoration. "They're so cuuute!"

"Oh, my goodness!" Marilyn agreed, as soon as she laid her eyes on the plush amiibos. "Those are simply adorable!"

"I can't wait to play with these when I get home," said Lumpy. "There's so many games I can play with three amiibos!"

"I'm happy you love those, too," said Marilyn. "Although I don't know anything about these so-called 'amiibos,' of course..."

Lumpy put the amiibos aside and picked up what seemed to be the last present. To savor the moment, he slowly and carefully removed the wrapping paper, looking away from the present at the last moment. When he looked back, he saw what it was: It was Pokemon: Let's Go, Pikachu, also for Nintendo Switch.

"Oh, my gosh...!" Lumpy said as a huge smile appeared on his face. "This... this is the one I wanted most of all!" He hugged the game in his arms. "And it's finally mine!"

He put the game aside, got up from where he had been sitting and sighed in satisfaction. Just then, Marilyn tapped his shoulder gently, causing him to look at her.

"Lumpy, darling?" Marilyn held a blue gift bag that Lumpy didn't remember bringing here. "This is for you, from me and your father."

Lumpy smiled and accepted the gift bag. "Thank you, Mom," said Lumpy.

He looked down at the bag, reached his arm into it and felt around for whatever was inside. Finally he found something soft, then pulled it out. It was a blue smiling teddy bear with an equally blue nose, and light purple eyes. Lumpy smiled and hugged the teddy bear.

"Aw, it's so cute..." said Lumpy in adoration. "Thank you so, so much, Mom and Dad."

"You're welcome, darling," said Marilyn with a smile.

"Yeah, don't mention it, sonny," Lumpward added.

"By the way, there's one more gift that I brought," said Lumpy. He put his teddy bear back in the gift bag, which he then put down. He picked up the final remaining gift. "This one is for both of you."

Marilyn smiled as Lumpy handed the gift to her. She opened it along with Lumpward. To both of their surprise, it was the box of hot chocolate that Lumpy had bought for them yesterday.

"Oh, Lumpy, thank you so much," said Marilyn. "You're very, very thoughtful."

"You sure are," said Lumpward in agreement. "You know us all too well, too."

Lumpy smiled and blushed at their comments. Marilyn placed the box of hot chocolate mix on the coffee table and hugged her son, as did Lumpward. Lumpy blushed even more, but smiled again and returned the favor.

"Shall we all have some hot chocolate together, darling?" Marilyn asked Lumpy.

"That sounds delicious," Lumpy said. When his parents let go of him, however, he reached into his pockets. "But before we do that, I'd like you to meet someone I brought..."

"Oh?" Marilyn asked.

Lumpy pulled out both of his Pokeballs, and pushed the buttons on both of them so that they became their normal sizes. He turned around and threw the Pokeballs so that they opened, and out came those familiar flashes of light that went onto the floor.

When the flashes subsided, there stood Lumpy's Lillipup and Bunnelby. Lumpy moved out of the way so his parents could see them. The two Pokemon looked up at Marilyn and Lumpward with a smile.

"Arf!" Lillipup yipped once to greet them.

"Oh, Lumpy! You brought your little Pokemon friends!" Marilyn said. She bent over, picked up the Lillipup and gave him a hug. "That is so sweet of you!"

Lumpward looked over at Lillipup, smiled and petted the top of his head. "It sure is," he mentioned.

When Marilyn put Lillipup back down on the floor, she then looked down at Bunnelby. He didn't look like a Pokemon she could recognize.

"Excuse me, Lumpy, but is this a Pokemon you've obtained recently?" Marilyn wanted to know.

"That one doesn't look like anything I've seen before, either," Lumpward agreed.

"No, I've had him for a while," said Lumpy. "But I don't think I've shown him to you. Mom, Dad, this Pokemon's name is Bunnelby."

"Why, hello there, little one," Marilyn greeted the Bunnelby. She petted the top of his head and his ears, with Bunnelby enjoying it. "I have to admit, he's just as cute as Lillipup."

"He kind of is," Lumpward said.

"Yeah, I think so, too." Lumpy petted the tips of Bunnelby's ears. "Even when I first got him, he's been a very nice, well-behaved Pokemon."

"That's good to hear," Marilyn commented.

"So, uh..." Lumpy thought for a moment. "You ready to make some hot chocolate?"

"Of course, sweetie," said Marilyn.

"Then we can sit down in front of the TV and watch a movie or something," said Lumpward.

Marilyn giggled at his comment, hand over mouth. "Oh, Lumpy!"

With that, Lumpy picked up the box of hot chocolate before he, Marilyn and Lumpward headed into the kitchen. It took them a few minutes, but soon they had finished enough hot chocolate for all three of them. They returned to the living room - Marilyn with her world's best mom mug, Lumpward with his world's best dad mug, and Lumpy with a dark blue mug with the letter L on it - and sat down on the couch. Lumpward picked up the remote and turned on the TV, at which point they began to watch a movie together. Lillipup and Bunnelby sat on the floor, close to Lumpy and Marilyn's legs, so they could watch the movie as well.

Finally, after a long and relaxing Christmas Day together, it was time for Lumpy and his Pokemon to go home. The sun was beginning to set into the horizon. Lumpy returned his Pokemon into their Pokeballs and put them back in his pockets.

"Thank you for the wonderful Christmas, Mom and Dad," Lumpy said to his parents.

"You're welcome, Lumpy," said Marilyn. "And thank you for making our Christmas wonderful, darling."

"Yeah, thanks. It wouldn't have been the same without you," Lumpward agreed.

Lumpy smiled. "You're welcome." He picked up his gift bag that still had the teddy bear inside, as well as every single gift that he had opened that were from Santa. "And thank you for the gifts. They were just as wonderful as my stay here."

"We're looking forward to seeing you again, sweetheart," Marilyn said.

"I'm looking forward to seeing you guys again, too," Lumpy replied.

He gave both of his parents a warm hug; first his father, then his mother. They both smiled at him as he finished, and his mother gave him a kiss on the end of his nose when he was done. Lumpy blushed a bit, then turned, opened the front door and headed out to his car.

Lumpy placed his gift bag in the passenger seat of his car, then turned to wave goodbye to his parents. They were standing at the door, watching and waving in return. Lumpy got into the driver's seat and closed the car door. He fastened his seatbelt, placed his key in the slot, started the engine and drove away from his parents' house.

Again, it was a bit of a bumpy drive home, but Lumpy could handle it just fine. When he finally made it back to his house, he pulled into his driveway, killed the engine and took off his seatbelt. He opened the car door, stepped out with his bag of gifts, closed the doors and went into his house.

Missie had been waiting for him from the couch. She jumped down, went over to Lumpy and rubbed herself against his legs. Lumpy couldn't help but giggle as she did that.

"Hey, Missie, I'm home," Lumpy said. "You must have missed me, huh?" Missie purred to indicate that she had.

"I'll play with you soon, okay? There's a couple of things I still have to do."

Missie understood and walked away from Lumpy's legs.

As Lumpy put away his gifts so he could enjoy them when he wanted to, he still noticed the gift bag for Sniffles waiting underneath the tree. He went over to it, picked it up, then pulled out his smartphone. He sent Sniffles a text message, saying, "Can I come over? I've got a surprise for you."

Not long afterward, Sniffles responded. "Sounds good. But how would you like me to come over instead? You've probably had a long day."

"Okay."

Lumpy turned the screen off on his phone and put it back in his pocket. He then went over to the couch, sat down on it, put down his gift bag and pulled his Pokeballs out again. He pressed the buttons on them and threw them at the floor, deploying Lillipup and Bunnelby once again.

"Hmm, I think it's time I made you all your dinner," said Lumpy.

He stood up from the couch and walked into the kitchen, while Lillipup, Bunnelby and Missie followed him from behind. When Lumpy made it into the kitchen, he pulled out the red and blue pet dishes and put them on the counter. Lumpy then pulled out his bag of Pokemon kibble and filled both of the dishes with it. He then left them as Lillipup climbed up one of the chairs and jumped onto the counter, while Bunnelby hopped straight onto it. As they had yesterday, Lillipup ate from the red pet dish while Bunnelby ate from the blue one.

Lumpy then pulled out the pink pet dish for Missie. He picked up a can of cat food as well as a can opener, which he used to cut the top of the can open. He poured the can into the pet dish, then tossed the can in the trash and put the pet dish down in front of Missie. Missie happily went up to the dish and began eating.

Lumpy smiled as he threw away the can before putting away the bag of Pokemon kibble and the can opener. Just then, he heard a knock on the door. Lumpy walked out of the kitchen and went up to the front door, placed his hand on the doorknob, turned it and pulled it open.

As he expected, Sniffles was standing at the door. Unlike the last time Lumpy had seen him, he was wearing a light blue scarf, not much different from Lumpy's fur color. "Hey, Lumpy! Merry Christmas."

"Hey, Sniffles," Lumpy replied. "How was your Christmas?"

"Oh, it was wonderful," said Sniffles. "I had so much fun with my parents, and they gave me so many presents."

"I had a great time with my parents, too," said Lumpy. "And about that surprise for you..."

"Yeah?"

"One moment, please." Lumpy walked away from the door for a brief moment, and then returned with the gift bag that had been waiting on the couch. He handed the bag to Sniffles. "Here you go."

Sniffles smiled, accepted the bag and looked through it. To his happiness, he saw the pack of feathers and pepper shaker that Lumpy had gotten him yesterday.

"Oh, Lumpy! Thank you so much!" Sniffles said.

"You're welcome, Sniffles. I knew you'd like those," Lumpy replied with a smile.

"And by the way, I have a little something for you as well," said Sniffles. He reached behind his back and pulled out a small box with a ribbon wrapped around it. He showed the box to Lumpy.

"Oh, thank you," Lumpy replied. He took the box, pulled the ribbon off of it, and then removed the lid from the box. When he looked inside, his eyes sparkled and he smiled once again.

Sniffles had given him a plush toy of Tootie.

"Aaawwww!" Lumpy cooed. He put the lid aside, pulled out the plush Tootie and gave it a hug. "Thank you SO much, Sniffles!"

Sniffles giggled to himself in equal adoration, as well as happiness for Lumpy. "You're welcome, Lumpy. I knew you would love it."

Lumpy put the box aside and continued hugging his Tootie. "I'm gonna have so much fun with this tomorrow," he mused.

Suddenly, however, Lumpy felt a tickle in his nose. Holding his Tootie toy in one hand, he rubbed his nose with the other, but it didn't seem to work.

"What's the matter~?" Sniffles asked.

"I think I... have to sneeze..." Lumpy mentioned, but aside from his snout twitching, there wasn't much of a sign that he was going to. "Um, a little help, please?"

Sniffles smiled, reached into his gift bag and pulled out the bag of feathers. He gently tore it open, pulled out a feather and wiggled it underneath Lumpy's nose. Lumpy cringed as his nostrils flared up. He needed to sneeze.

"Aaaah... Haaaaaah..." Lumpy inhaled, dropping his Tootie toy. "AaaaaaaaAAAAAAHHHHHHH..."

Sniffles tickled Lumpy's nose a little more, then pulled his feather away from his nose and watched in anticipation. With a final dramatic inhale and tilt of his upper body, Lumpy exploded.

"HAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH- CHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Lumpy shot his neck forwards as he released the sneeze, with a good amount of spray coming out of his mouth. On the plus side, Sniffles didn't get sprayed. Lumpy recovered from the sneeze, sniffled and rubbed his nose with his forefinger.

"Hehehe!" Sniffles giggled in enjoyment. "Gesundheit~!"

"Thanks..." Lumpy continued to rub his nose.

Out of sympathy, Sniffles reached into his pocket, pulled out a tissue and offered it to Lumpy. Lumpy accepted it, blew his nose and then wiped it cutely, causing Sniffles to giggle even more.

"Oh, and thanks for getting my sneeze out," said Lumpy.

"No problem," Sniffles replied. "I'm gonna go now. It's kinda late, so we'll talk more in the morning, okay?"

Lumpy nodded in understanding and waved as Sniffles turned and walked away with his gift bag.

"See you tomorrow!" said Lumpy.

He closed his front door, picked his Tootie plush toy back up and smiled. He pulled his scarf off his neck, followed by his boots and socks. He also took off his sweater and pants, then put all of his clothes in the hamper. He briefly went upstairs to put his Tootie toy on the bed in his bedroom, then returned to the kitchen to make his dinner. He had fed his pets, now it was time to feed himself.

Lumpy washed his hands, opened the fridge, and pulled out a TV dinner of macaroni and cheese. He followed the instructions on how to make it; he poked the wrap a few times with a fork, then stuck it in the microwave for a few minutes. He repeated this a couple of times until it was ready to eat. Lumpy then took the macaroni and cheese out of the microwave, sat down at the table and ate. He ate his dinner without pepper this time, to keep himself from sneezing like he did the night before.

After dinner, Lumpy put his laundry in the washer, added some soap and started it up. He went to the dishwasher to do the dishes and put everything away in the cupboards and drawers. Lumpy then went upstairs into the bathroom, where he cleaned out Missie's litter box and filled it with fresh cat litter. By the time he'd finished, the washer had finished. Lumpy went back downstairs to put his wet clothes in the dryer, then cleaned out the lint screen - carefully so as not to sneeze from the lint - before he started the dryer up.

Then he stepped into the shower to clean himself off. After a few minutes, he came out of the shower and brushed his teeth. As he washed out his mouth with a few sips of water that he spat into the sink, he heard the dryer finish.

Lumpy went back downstairs, looked in his dryer carefully so as not to stir up any lint, and finally pulled out his fresh, warm pajama top and bottom. He shook them a few times to air them out, and then put his top on one arm at a time. Then he put on his pajama bottom one leg at a time. He took a deep inhale and sighed as he was surrounded by warmth, even as he buttoned his top closed.

"Ahh... Nothing like warm pajamas before bed," said Lumpy.

He turned off all of the lights in the kitchen and living room. After climbing the stairs, he opened the door to his bedroom and headed in. His Tootie plush toy was still on the bed, waiting for him.

Lumpy smiled and yawned into his hand. This had been a long day, he had done everything he needed to do, and was looking forward to going to sleep. He walked over to his bed, stepped in and got underneath the covers. He pressed his hands against his pillow to fluff it up, then looked over at his plush toy of Tootie, and gave her a hug.

"Nighty night, Tootie," Lumpy said softly.

He turned over to the light and switched it off, filling the room with darkness. Lumpy lay there on his back, holding his Tootie toy in his arms, as his eyelids fell closed and he began to snore. Over his snoring, he could hear the wind howling outside.

The End